The Michigan defensive line, led by Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, is set up for success in 2024.
The Michigan football team’s defensive line is already causing problems.
Throughout one of the most “competitive and challenging” spring practices of graduate running back Kalel Mullings’ time in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines’ defense — and their defensive line in particular — has been consistently challenging their offense.
“The defense, they’re definitely throwing some things at us right now,” Mullings said Thursday. “But at the same time, the great thing about it is that we’re all getting better. We’re testing them and they’re testing us every single day.”
With standout returners in junior defensive tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant at the point of attack, Michigan’s defensive line has a high ceiling and even higher expectations
Last season, Graham and Grant started to show just how disruptive they can be. Graham’s athleticism combined with Grant’s aggression stifled opposing offenses. The former earned 2023 second team All-American honors while the latter secured a second team All-Big Ten selection, cementing themselves as contributors to the top-ranked defense in the nation.
With some of last year’s key leaders heading to the NFL — namely, former lineman Kris Jenkins — the lethal duo will take the reins of a defensive line with high potential.
“They’re two studs in the middle, like they can do anything,” junior edge rusher Derrick Moore said. “You can double team them, they can still beat it. You can triple team them, they can still beat it. You can drop them into coverage, they’re gonna strap you down. They can do whatever. It’s crazy. I’ve never seen like any D-tackles ever doing it and I’ve been around a lot of great D-tackles. But they’re different, they’re really different.”
As for the guys around Graham and Grant, Moore and senior edge rusher Josaiah Stewart will be big complements on the edge. Stewart finished his 2023 campaign strong with a huge play on the Wolverines’ game-winning defensive stop in the Rose Bowl, and he’ll look to ride that momentum heading into the fall.
Senior edge rusher T.J. Guy has also started to turn heads throughout spring ball, garnering recognition and praise from a number of players and coaches. Guy appeared in nine games on defense and a handful on special teams last season, and he’ll likely take on a bigger role within the defensive line rotation going forward./cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71151892/1237522067.0.jpg)
In addition to player turnover, Michigan is undergoing significant coaching staff changes — and the defensive line is no exception. In fact, following the resignation of former coach Greg Scruggs, the Wolverines hired their new defensive line coach less than a week ago.
Lou Esposito, a familiar face in the state of Michigan but new to the Wolverines’ program, took over the position. Esposito has found consistent success coaching defensive linemen at the college level, and Michigan hopes he’ll continue that in Ann Arbor.
“We’re still also coming in together and meeting and things like that, but (Esposito) also seems like a great guy,” Moore said. “He’s teaching me a lot right now, just about my footwork, my hands, my eyes and things like that. So it’s just been a bit kind of crazy, but there’s been a lot of great faces that I’ve been running into.”
Amid the craziness of rebuilding and adjusting to coaching turnover, the defensive line has made its presence felt early in spring practice. As the new components start to gel further with Graham and Grant at the center, they’ll look to extend and strengthen that presence into the fall.
